Women'S Life in The Hand of An Abuser
Women'S Life in The Hand of An Abuser
Women'S Life in The Hand of An Abuser
A Research Paper
Presented to the
In Partial Fulfillment
By:
Ma.MikaelaKassandraAlmeda
BlezzleCazzenEspaldon
Nicolle Oblena
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Instrumentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Questionnaires ………………………………………………………………………………………34
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CHAPTER IV RESULTS AND FINDINGS
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ……40
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….. ……………………..40-41
Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …. 41
REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42-45
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Acknowledgement
A major research project like this is never the work of anyone alone. The contributions of many
different people, in their different ways, have made this possible. We would like to extend our sincerely
To Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, for giving the wisdom, strength, support and knowledge in
exploring things; for the guidance is helping surpass all the trials that the researchers encountered and
for giving determination to pursue their studies and to make this study possible, "I can do everything
To Ms. Kristine Gail Lobo, for lending her time for giving opinions, suggestions and ideas for
improvement;
To the police officers and the participants who willingly shared the information and their
experiences to us;
Last but not least, we would like to thank our parents for their unconditional support, both
To the people who helped and contribute great ideas and advices, especially classmates and close
friends for without them, this study would not be possible. We greatly appreciated. The researchers
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
“I call on men and boys everywhere to join us. Violence against women and girls will not be
eradicated until all of us – men and boys – refuse to tolerate it. – Ban Ki-Moon”
Violence is committed when a person uses his/her physical force over others resulting to injury
or damage towards them. Violence against women became a phenomenon worldwide through time
causing enormous impact not only in the life of the victims but also to their families, and societies.
That’s why different groups of people throughout the world think of possible ways to prevent violence
against women. Now, violence against women is considered a violation of human rights.
Women are the most common victims of violence rather than men and that is why the
researchers chose to study the experiences of abused women. Abuse or violence may come in different
forms such as physical violence, sexual, economic, threats, and psychological abuse. In this matter, the
researchers will be focusing on a case study on physical violence along with sexual and psychological
In the past, women have no rights at all, or if they do have, it is very limited. But as years go by,
women gain rights until they are treated equally to men. Now, women are highly regarded because of
their achievements in life. A number of women have been recognized in the fields of politics, arts,
education or even in government. Women in every sector of society particularly in the labor sector,
women have assumed various male dominated occupations. In spite of their participation in the labor
force, women still bear the responsibility to take care of their children, prepare meals for the family, and
doing household chores (UNICEF, 2010). Though women now have the same rights as what men have,
still, in some parts of the world, women are regarded as weaker than men. There is still a gap between
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men and women as to their rights and ways of living. Other cultures believe that the husbands “own”
In the Philippines, some people find it hard to accept the equality of women to men. Traditional
Filipino women concentrate only on taking care of their husbands and children. They are supposed to be
obedient to their husbands and let their husbands make important decisions. But today’s Filipino
women are now different; a majority of them are being recognized in different fields of work.
Women help their husbands in providing the basic needs of family by working abroad or
pursuing a career. But there is a perception that women are weak, helpless, and very dependent on
men. Thus, it does not come as a surprise if violence against women still persists; they remain vulnerable
into violence, with physical abuse as the most common among intimate partners.
Philippine National Police the armed, civilian, national police force of the Philippines. It is one of
the country's force who has the authority to implement safety and security of its jurisdiction. With the
continuous crimes that have been happening in our country, our Philippine National Police is someone
In our country, where VAW is one of the most common crimes which is being reported by
women who are subjected to different forms of abuse almost every day are being handled by the
women's desk. Reports are given immediate and adequate actions by the authorities to make sure that
these crimes and abuses are not to be done again by abusive men who have domination over their
partners. Furthermore, office like the Department of Justice and lower local authorities like the
barangays also give protection to the abused women by issuing of what is called the "Barangay
Protection Order.
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BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
In the Philippines, VAW (Violence against Women) is one of the serious social problems. This
includes Physical abuse, Emotional Abuse, Psychological abuse, & Sexual abuse. Based on National
Demographic and Health Survey conducted by National Statistics Office in 2013, one out of five women
experience physical violence. One Fourth (1/4) or twenty-five percent (25%) of ever-married women
experienced physical abuse from their husbands/spouse and onlythirty percent (30%) of women who
reportedly have experienced physical violence sought assistance in response to the physical or sexual
violence they experienced.VAW remained a problem despite the implementation of Republic Act 9262,
also known as the Anti-Violence against Women and their Children Act of 2004. The protection of
“It is hereby declared that the State values the dignity of women and children and
guarantees full respect for human rights. The State also recognizes the need to protect
the family and its members particularly women and children,from violence and threats
to their personal safety and security.
Towards this end, the State shall exert efforts to address violence committed
against women and children in keeping with the fundamental freedom guaranteed
under the constitutions of the Provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights,the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other International human rights
instrumentsof which the Philippines is a party”.(Anti Violence against Women and their
Children Act of 2004, section 2)”
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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This study seeks to understand the challenges of abused women and how they cope with these
2. What are the usual actions or responses of the officer/s assigned in the station?
3. What hinders women from voicing out the abuses that they experience?
As students of the Lyceum of the Philippines University- Manila, this study can help the students
to be aware that there is a “desk” assigned for women subjected to acts of violence. In connection to
our course, AB Foreign Service and with United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal #5 also known
as Gender Equality, we can relate our study to empower the women’s right and equality between men
and women. For future researchers, to provide them with a guide and basis to recommend solutions
This study on women’s experience against violence specifically aims to achieve the following:
2. To find out the common types of abused that were complain in the women’s desk.
3. To know the reason behind the dilemma why they chose not to report or complain to women’s
desk.
4. Find out the government’s response towards the experiences of women on physical abuse.
5. To understand the experience of abused women who seek help from police officers.
6. To analyze the gaps between the police officers and the abused women.
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SCOPE AND LIMITATION
This study will focus on the topic about the case being reported by the abused women in
Bacoor, Cavite police station, women’s desk. The researchers also decided to look for certain situation if
there are some reported case similar to another. However, the researchers will not tackle issues
The researchers will seek Informed consent to the officers in charge in handling the women’s
desk. Through this letter, the researchers will be able to introduce the research that they are conducting
and this will give an idea to the participants whether they will participate or not. If they chose to
participate, the researchers will make sure to anonymousthe participants since the study has a sensitive
topic, in order to protect their identity from being known by people.The researchers willalso treat the
participants with respect and courtesy.And aside from keeping our participants’ anonymity, the
researchers will also make sure to keep the information they’ve collected confidential.
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DEFINITION OF TERMS
The researchers decided to define the terms technically to better understand on how these
2. Domestic Violence - actions or words which are intended to hurt a person usually
done at home.
another.
3. GABRIELA - a woman’s national alliance which aims to protect the rights of the
women.
- This party wherein they are dedicated in promoting the rights and
and equality.
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4. BWS - short term for Battered Women Syndrome
other relatives.
are used to gain and/or maintain power and control over another.
wives.
8. Women’s desk - a part in a police station wherein women can file their complaints.
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9. Statutory Rape - “Statutory Rape is a laceration of penetration into the hymen of a
woman”
11. Medicolegal – medical certificate that indicates the physical condition of a person
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CHAPTER II
1. Since then, violence committed to women gradually expanded as years passed by.
Women from different parts of the world are reportedly abused by their husbands or partners
due to financial problems and any other reasons may be on why they are being sadistic to their
partners. Violence against women began to draw attention as a serious problem in the late
1960’s and early 1970’s. Since then, the term violence against women has been used to describe
a variety of different behaviors, including emotional, sexual and physical assault; murder; genital
mutilation; stalking; sexual harassment and prostitution (Crowell & Burgees, 1996)
Physical violence against a partner, more often than not, is associated with
psychological abuse. In this case, woman who is physically abused also experience psychological
abuse because of the threats she receives from her partner. Woman may also feel belittled
because of the verbal attacks being thrown at her that causes public humiliation and criticisms
not only from the abuser himself but also from people around her leading her to feel
2000).
2. The study on battered women cases show that woman battering occurs in lower and
middle class. It categorized the finding of rural and urban women in terms of physical, sexual,
and psychological abuse. This classification is largely consistent with that of Tong (1984), who
distinguishes among four forms of woman battering. Physical battering includes assaultive
behavior such as punching, kicking, choking, and burning. Sexual battering includes forced
sexual intercourse with violence or the threat of violence. Psychological battering refers to
consistent attacks on the self-esteem of women that often include intimidation and threats of
violence. It is the unidirectional flow of this emotional abuse and the duration of the abuse that
cohabiting relationships. Tong argues that consistent psychological battering can throw the
recipient into a state of confusion because societal messages continually imply that the marital
bond should produce the most intimate and caring relationship of one’s life.
Lenore Walker (1984) describes the battered women as being more likely than no
battered women to believe in traditional sex role stereotypes. In addition, battered women may
have less confidence in their ability to make it on their own to leave his partner. The abuser is
more likely than non-abusive men to have grown up in a home where he has experienced or
witnessed abuse as a child. According to Walker (1984), battered women suffer from a condition
known as battered women syndrome whereby they assume the persona of the victim. They
suffer from learned helplessness, a trait that makes them increasingly submissive and
despondent.
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3. During the period between 60’s and 70’s, feminists scholars emerged and they started
to study the gender inequality. Feminism is the belief that men and women should have equal
rights and opportunities or just simply is the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of
political, social and economic equality to men. They found out that the main cause of abuse
against women is because of patriarchy. Patriarchy which means man is dominant in the family
and most likely, in the society. So, he has the power over women and children. He can also
control both of them. Man, battering or beating wife is part of their lives because wife is just
subordinate. And women being the subordinate, she must give or fulfill the needs of the
dominant, which is the man. The abuser must take control of their relationship even if he needs
to use force. It can be physical or verbal abuse or other in order for him to prove that he is the
dominant.
The feminists see abuse against women is mainly because of patriarchy but it isn’t.
Somehow, patriarchy just plays a role in abuse against women. But there are other possible
reasons why men tend to abuse women. Men have different way of thinking, they have unique
personality than others; their experienced were different from others. These can be some of the
It is true that patriarchy and abuse against women are linked together but it does not
necessarily mean that all men abuses women. Though there are several men who battered their
wife, there are still a lot of men who don’t. During the past few years, different groups or
individuals from different places took actions on how to prevent and stop abuse from happening
all over again. Though there are a lot criminal and civil justice tools in regards to violence against
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women or their partner, most of the abuse woman chose not to seek help from police
and other institutions. Some tried to seek help and pursue a case in the court against the
abuser. Maybe not all, but most of them would not show up in the following proceedings. They
decided to stay because of some reasons and some reconciled with their partners. (Tracy, S.,
2007)
Some women decided to stay with her husband/partners because bringing up the topic
about them being separated might trigger her husband/partner to abuse her again. They chose
to stay because they are thinking that if ever they got separated, their husband/partner might
revenge on them. While those who try to seek for help but back-out after some time, they don’t
want to continue the court proceedings because they know that the protection order is not for
forever, it has limited time. And because pursuing the case will cost a lot of money. They would
rather be physically abuse with house to sleep and food to eat rather than nothing at all. But if
they decided to continue and fight for their rights, in the end, they are still not safe. Even if the
case is closed, it does not necessarily mean that the abused woman is now safe. There are still
possibilities that the abusers will harassed again their partners. (Payne, D. &Wermeling, L. 2009)
Women before were known for being tolerant, they are willing to do and accept what
their husbands says because before, their religion taught them to treat their partner as their
master. And for a long period of time, violence against women was being ignored by the police,
social workers and even on the court. They can’t do anything because they thought it was their
private life so they cannot meddle into it even if the woman was being abuse. They don’t even
protect or acknowledge the right of the women until in the 1960’s and 1970’s when the feminist
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But sometimes, because of the long-term violence that the women endure, some
women killed their husband as an act of self-defense. It can be because of Battered Women
Syndrome. It is a mental disorder that can lead to a theory that called as “learned helplessness”.
In this, because there is no one helping them, women think that the violence will never stop and
they will start to believe it. This made them tolerant about the abuse and made them stay in
that battering relationship that they have. Learned Helplessness theory explains why the
women killed her husband is because for them, they see it as the last option they have to
Victims who survive often experience long lasting harms: emotional and psychological
trauma, post traumatic stress disorder and other mental health problems, substance abuse
problems, poor reproductive health and physical injury (Campbell et al, 2002). Because of the
experiences that women had in the hands of their abusive partners, they often lead to serious
mental health problems, which in some cases are too hard to be given medication especially in
the part when the victim refuses to share or somehow voice out her experiences in the fear that
her partner might use it again against her. Thus, hitting the victim in her private parts, whether
intentionally or accidentally often leads to severe reproductive health problems. (Johnson, H.,
4. Various national and international communities have addressed women's issues and
taken various efforts to empower them so as to enhance their social and health status and
been a mechanism to increase personal and work life quality of woman in recent
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decades. Higher education and occupation is effective instrument to empowerment of women
but culture role and creativity can’t be denied in this relation. Knowledgeable, passionate, and
organized woman can collectively dispel the myths used to rationalize gender differences.
Women have an obligation to help the women who come after them. Change will not happen
5. The researchers added about the Provision that is written in our Student Handbook in
Lyceum of the Philippines University which is connected to our study: Provisions against Sexual
Harassment. The Provision of the Student handbook said that the LPU is committed to the
harassment refers to any unwanted sexual attention that is explicitly or implicitly made a
condition for favorable decisions affecting one’s school standing, or which creates an
Harassment are covered by the implementing guidelines of the Anti-Sexual harassment Act of
1995. An ad hoc committee will conduct the investigation of alleged cases constituting sexual
harassment and will recommend any course of action that may be called for an investigation. On
this provision it says that the State shall value the dignity of every individual, enhance the
development of its human resources, guarantee full respect for human rights, and uphold the
dignity of workers, employees, applicants for employment, and students of those undergoing
training, instruction or education. Toward this end, all forms of sexual harassment in the
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6. Women’s rights are the fight for the idea that women should have equal rights with
men. Before women have no rights to vote that was called Women suffrage. The movement’s
originators used the term “Woman Suffrage” to refer to the enfranchisement of women as a
whole. It was meant to make the point that suffrage was a gendered category, that what people
thought as a suffrage did not consist in the aggregation of individuals’ right to vote. The
nineteenth century gender system was threatened by women’s demands for suffrage rights.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, the battle for women's vote has followed the development
of democracies in which public power depended on the outcome of voting. The struggle in the
United States was not the only suffrage campaign, but the American and British woman suffrage
campaigns are the best-known and were influential in winning the vote elsewhere.
7. Women's history has always been closely linked with contemporary feminist politics as
well as with changes in the discipline of history itself. In America, women’s month was always
celebrated with them. During women’s month they honor the countless women who sacrificed
and strived harder to ensure all people have an equal shot at pursuing the American dream. On
the Philippines, the researchers found out that we also have our own supported group about
women called: Women’s Liberation Movement or simply Feminism that are primarily concerned
with making social, political, and economic status of women equal to that of men. Also,
Women’s Liberation Movement is a feminist group for women who want to fight back against
male supremacy and win more freedom for women. Feminism has won important footholds and
significant gains for women in crucial areas of our lives, but the need for this fight continues.
Strengthened by what we have learned in battles won and lost, we are ready for another assault
on male supremacy. The researchers believe the leadership and ideas of women of color are
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central to the struggle going forward. The researchers oppose racism. So, they believe women
as a class will never be free as long as any part of our class is not free.
8. In a journal made by Andrea Den Boer, she explained the connection between an
abused women’s right and women’s security in a larger basis, specifically on land ownership that
9. The right of women to suffrage was made possible here in the Philippines in the year
1937 during the administration of the late President Manuel Quezon. Article V of the 1935
Constitution that limited the right to vote to men set a condition that suffrage may also be
extended to Filipino women if 300,000 of them will vote in favor of the motion in a special
plebiscite to be held within two years after the adoption of the Constitution. In the election held
on December 14, 1937, women casted their first votes and were allowed to run for a public
positions.
10. With the statistical data gathered by the UN in the year 2015, around 1/3 of the women
across the world experienced violence. Only 10 percent of women who experienced physical or
sexual abuse sought police help or assistance and others only looked for their family’s or friends’
help.
11. The Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
is a treaty which is made by the United Nations to set up an agenda that will end the
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discrimination against women from around the world. In a journal made by SharifahShahirah,
she focuses on the concept of regional-global network by understanding CEDAW in the ASEAN
12. In 1984, a large number of women from different places, artist, poor, worker, middle
class - marched together and unite against the Marcos dictatorship because they wanted
economic and political change. That’s when the Gabriela started. Gabriela came from Gabriela
Silang, who is an icon to the Filipina women from the 18th century.
Gabriela launched a party list called “Gabriela Women’s Party” and it was founded on
October 28, 2000. It is the biggest alliance of women’s organization here in the Philippines that
promote the rights and welfare of Filipino women through participating in the electoral arena.
And for 20 years, Gabriela, with an important position in Philippine women’s movement have
In 2001, Gabriela participates in the country’s electoral system and Liza Maza run as the
party list representative. They passed pro-women legislation like the anti-Trafficking in Persons
Act and the Anti-Violence against Women and Children Act. Gabriela Women’s Party ranked 7th
out of 66 in the national party list election in 2004 while in 2007, they ranked 4 th place in
There are over 100, 000 members throughout the Philippines and Filipinos abroad. And
Gabriela Women’s Party will continue to protect the country as well as the rights of women and
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13. Last year of October 5, 2015, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed Heidi
undersecretary general of the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) for a five-year
non-renewable term. It is stated in OIOS’s website, she will assist the UN secretary-general
Before she was appointed as the undersecretary general of (OIOS), she served
Commission on Audit (COA) for 2 decades and was appointed as a commissioner by President
Aquino in March 2011. She also worked as the Chairperson of the Audit Committee on Public
Sector Auditing Standards Board as well as External Auditor for the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), International Labour Organization (ILO) and World Health Organization
(WHO). She served the government for 20 years and she specialized in different aspects like
anti-corruption, investigation, integrity advocacy, audit and fraud examination that made her a
14. Ms. Sri Rumiati, an Indonesian woman who wanted to join the police had to take several
tests as a requirement for you to be part of the police, including virginity test. Ms. Rumiati said it
was humiliating and uncomfortable. It can also traumatize those who undergo such tests.
She campaigned to abolish taking virginity tests for the women. And after Human Rights
Watch (HRC) condemned the practice, it was officially abolished last year. Though it was already
ended, in the new tests, the chief medical officer of Jakarta’s metropolitan police, Dr. Musyafak
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said that doctors are examining the cadet to see if the cadet’s hymen is intact. Female doctors
conduct the tests if there are available, but if there’s no female doctor like in rural provinces,
There are 2 assumptions behind these tests. First, probing the hymen of the women can
tell if she’s still a virgin. Second, women who are still virgins make better police officers because
they are moral. And both of these assumptions were wrong. Taking those tests won’t reveal
These can be the reasons why there are few policewomen in Indonesia. And this makes it
difficult for women to go to police station and report for domestic violence or rape because they
might not understand. There was an incident last year, when a woman reported that her
husband was abusing her. She spent 5 months in jail because she defamed her husband.
15. Violence against women and children has a widespread effect because it does not only
affect the life of the women, but also her family and those who surrounds her. That’s why we
need to eradicate the gender-based social structures, public or private, that tolerates the
inferiority of women and the superiority of man, which they think, give them the power to
harass or threat the women. And every state must do an action on how to prevent violence or
But in the recent decades, different Conference has been made that pertains to
“Violence against Women and Children.” Aside from conference, there’s also Convention on the
Elimination of Violence against Women, and Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and
Eradication of Violence against Women – these Declarations, treaties, and Conventions are
made to protect human rights specifically violence against women and children.
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Gender-based violence affects everyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, whether you’re
young or old, well educated or not, wherever you live, whatever is your religion. It can affect
everyone, and the effect of these is serious to the extent that the women or children may even
die. We can only stop these from continuing if the relationship of men and women will be based
16. Violence in the home is one social issue that cuts across all socioeconomic, racial, ethic,
gender and age boundaries." (Einhorn, 1992, p.25) In all types of family, you can find abuse and
neglect and interpersonal relationships. Violence can be committed in the form of physical and
documented across centuries. Multidisciplinary perspective is one of the best way yo explain
abusive families.
17. Mezey, Post, and Maxwell (2002) study the relationship between age, and physical
violence, and non-physical violence. They wanted to find out if the number of physical violence
against older women is lower than other age. They found out that age is not related to physical
abuse and that older women who were abused have similar rates to the younger women.
18. Jordan (2002) pointed out that there is an assumption that women police officers will
respond actively to the rape complaints by the women instead of the policeman. The research
study found out that in 48 complainants of sexual assaults and rape who are all women, most of
them suggested on how both men and women should reached out on the abused women like
them. As the result of the study, it showed that gender was not a factor of complainant
satisfaction but rather the qualities of the policemen or policewomen possessed. Some of the
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qualities that the complainants desired were warmth, professionalism, and sensitivity. Though
some of the complainants still preferred women officers, this study suggests that policemen
should be sensitive on the interviewers and also, being a woman does not necessarily mean that
they possessed the qualities desired by the complainants. This simply means that police should
not only provide policewomen but trained and experienced police officers.
19. There are many different policies and laws protecting women from violence. But the
rate of abused women continued to tell us that these policies might not be that effective. In the
recent studies showed that the victims continue to feel traumatized dealing with the attitudes
and practices of the response team. Some of the victims experienced things like the police
officers would not believe on what she had said or they blamed her for what happened to them.
These actions and attitudes of the police can affect the victim without even knowing it.
One of the solutions made was to train criminal justice system personnel like police, lawyers,
etc. on removing barriers to develop appropriate response to the victim of domestic violence. As
a result, police officer must understand first the problem and impact that will be made. More
knowledge about the problem can help the officers to respond to the victims effectively.
20. In the past, if there are domestic violence reported to the police departments, most of
the police officers would suggest counseling or separation because they discourage arresting the
abuser at that time. Unlike before, the abusers’ offenders will be arrested even if there is no
warrant because nowadays, there are different laws that protect women. It was found in the
different studies that battered women were not satisfied with the help of the police, though
most of the battered women seek for the help of the police. The battered women were not
satisfied because they wanted the police officers to not blame them on what happened towards
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them but instead, show more compassion, and believed on what they said. As a result of the
study, police should improve their community satisfaction by training the police officers and by
21. The development of modern ‘professional’ policing in the nineteenth century was an
extremely important social innovation, but one that failed to include women. Female policewere
first appointed in a sprinkling of locations in the early decades of the twentieth century. Further
expansion occurred during the First World War, largely due to labour shortages (Brown and
Heidensohn, 2000; Jackson, 2006). Appointments continued on a piecemeal basis as the century
progressed, and often comparatively late. Pioneer female officers were usually limited to very
small numbers within women police units, working predominantly as assistants to male
detectives.
The ‘women police movement’ of the early-twentieth century was only successful in
creating a very small space for female officers by making their role an extension of social welfare
work. Women police were often unsworn, appointed on lower pay rates, without any rank
structure and without a pension scheme, and they were subject to dismissal if they married
(Prenzler, 2002). The entry and expansion of women police was, in general, fiercely opposed by
police managers and police union leaders. On the job, women were often undermined by
promotion (Hunt, 1990; Brown and Heidensohn, 2000). The male monopoly on police work was
supportedby powerful stereotypes about the nature of police work and intrinsic gendered traits.
Policing was seen as requiring symbolic authority and physical force that only males could
exercise. These myths were perpetrated despite research in the 1970s and ’80s indicating that
women police were as effective as men on most performance measures, and generally better at
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diffusing conflict, and that there was strong public support for women police (Lunneborg, 1989).
From the 1970s, integration was imposed on police by equal opportunity legislation, but female
quotas were frequently retained until police managers were forced to abandon them by
litigation (Martin and Jurik, 2007). Legislation was then often subverted through the application
of military-style obstacle course tests in recruitment and more subtle forms of discrimination on
the job (Dick and Cassell, 2002; Dick and Hyde, 2006; Lonsway et al., 2002; Silvestri, 2003).
22. Policing can offer secure and stimulating work for women, with diverse career
opportunities, and with increasing opportunities for flexible employment. The presence of
women police also provides an alternative contact point for victims of crime confronted by the
well-documented insensitivity of many male police (National Center for Women and Policing,
2002). The employment of women police involves a variety of benefits, which have frequently
been denied or underestimated. Equity in policing supports the global mission to create genuine
equality and independence for women, including through employment and better delivery of
social services (United Nations, 2009).Policing can offer secure and stimulating work for women,
with diverse career opportunities, and with increasing opportunities for flexible employment.
The presence of women police also provides an alternative contact point for victims of crime
confronted by the well-documented insensitivity of many male police (National Center for
Women and Policing, 2002). Policy makers need to guard against ‘gender essentialism’ in
promoting feminized policing (Valenius, 2007), and equal opportunity should remain the
primary rationale for promoting police careers to women. At the same time, there is a strong
argument that female victims of crime, in particular, should have access to female officers
(Natarajan, 2008). The research evidence is also fairly strong in showing that increased female
participation in policing will lead to reduced complaints and reduced misconduct e including less
27
reliance on the use of force (Corsianos, 2011; National Center for Women and Policing, 2002).
There is also potential for women police to make a major contribution to improving security and
23. The term ‘‘empowerment’’ has been overused, misused, and co-opted (Stromquist,
2002; Stacki and Monkman, 2003). It is commonly deployed as a synonym for enabling,
participating, and speaking out.The idea of power as capacity is at the core of the
process through which women come to recognize their inherent worth, their ‘‘power within’’
patriarchy and promote social and economic development. Women’s empowerment is not an
end in and of itself, but a pivotal step towards establishing gender equality. In part, gender
equality is manifest through a just and equitable sharing of responsibilities by men and women.
Gender equality is not synonymous with gender parity, and does not mean that men and
women are the same or need to split work exactly in half. Rather, it characterizes social
conditions and relationships in which a vision of mutuality and cooperation shapes interactions
and enables men and women to reach their full potential (hooks, 2000).
24. The occupational environment of the police officer is often a risky and dangerous one,
as well as ambiguous. In order to cope with this atmosphere, officers adopt certain attitudinal
beliefs and behaviors. To combat the dangerous violence that may occur, officers use aggressive
law enforcement tactics (Brown, 1988; Reuss-Ianni, 1983). Officers adhering to the traditional
police subculture will adopt a strictly crime-fighting view of their role. This attitude constitutes
28
selectively performing duties, using coercion over and aggression towards citizens, and rejecting
any other job descriptions such as those that might reflect community policing. The use of
aggressive law enforcement tactics and a coercive authority over citizens is linked to an
authoritarian personality of officers that spills over into other parts of their lives.
25. Domestic violence has historically been considered a minor offense, and hence subject
to responding officer’s discretion (Fagan, 1996; Hirschel et al., 2007; Sherman and Berk, 1984).
In addition to the bias against its seriousness, complexity issues exist in various aspects of police
response to domestic violence. Given both extra-legal factors in police behavior and the
complexities in domestic violence, line officers as street-level bureaucrats cannot help but exert
a substantial amount of discretion for arrest decisions (Cross and Newbold, 2010).Police
enforcement would not deviate from the consensus in the society (i.e. law) which warrants the
legitimacy of police behavior.Police share the power with the majority group because the locus
of consensus is the source of legitimacy of their enforcement. The demographic and socio-
economic relations between offender and victim define the direction of crime, and the direction
26. Although historically the police response to (VAW) Violence Against Women has been
one of under enforcement (Pleck, 1987; Roy, 1977; Stark, 1993; Walker, 1985), a dramatic
change in the way the police respond to violence has occurred during the last two decades. The
literature identifies several factors that have influenced the formulation of current policies
regardingthe violence (Buzawa and Buzawa, 1993; Feder, 1997; Klinger, 1995; Parnas, 1993;
Sherman, 1992; Steinman, 1991). First, beginning in the 1970s, the women's movement and
various advocate groups brought domestic violence to the forefront of the US public's attention.
29
These groups argued for an increase in the use and severity of criminal sanctions against
domestic offenders. In 1982, due to the extensive lobbying efforts of these groups, 27 state
legislatures repealed ``the common law ban on police making warrantless arrests for domestic
assaults they did not witness'' (Sherman, 1992, p. 53).Themobilization of numerous public
resources to help deal with the Violence Against Women (VAW) problem also occurred during
this time. Battered women's shelters were opened and soon filled to capacity (Okun, 1986). In
addition, the availability and use of restraining orders increased, and numerous counseling and
27. The belief in policewomen’s greater suitability for dealing with women clients of the
police has been extended in recent times. The concept of the police client has been expanded
from the offenders to the victims of crime, as police departments internationally responded to
the impact of consumerism and the quest for enhanced customer satisfaction with service
delivery (Walklate. 2001). Service delivery itself is a relatively new concept, signifying a shift, in
rhetorical emphasis at least, from police “force” to police “service” as police departments
around the world sought to re-establish their legitimacy in the aftermath of mounting public
criticism and dissent (Reiner, 1992: Walklate, 2001). Within the criminal justice system
generally, pressure to recognize the rights and need of crime victims has assumed increasing
significance (Doerner and Lab, 1995), as reflected in legislation designed to establish principles
which agencies should adhere to in responding to such victims. As the gatekeepers to the justice
system, the police women are pivotal in their ability to influence which offenses are recorded,
30
Theoretical Framework
The Feminism Theory describes gender equality between men and women predominantly in
terms of political, cultural, social and economic movement that has the aim to promote legal protection
for women. Nevertheless, though we live in a society wherein women are now being recognized for
their contributions in different fields, we cannot deny the fact that they are still being degraded for their
capacities to share their capabilities. With this, violence committed to women is considered to be one of
those reasons why gender equality cannot be totally observed. As stated by Sally Peck, “Feminism
means equality between men and women, and we’re not there yet” (Peck, 2016). VAW begins when a
partner or husband starts to lay hands, drop painful and sexual words to their partners. Recent findings
state that VAW usually occurs in the lower class families because of different reasons which may include
the limited resources for their daily lives, partners or husbands may have mental illness or personality
disorder. Moreover, this is also true for some middle class families with a good livelihood as well. A
greater awareness of the complexities of the patterns of violent relationships will also improve targeting
by intervention programs and thus, improve allocation of funding and other resources. (Jasinski, 2001)
31
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
One of the most talked about issues of today is violence committed against women. In the
Philippines, VAW has been a serious issue in which government and other institutions for women try to
provide sufficient and effective laws that will guarantee their safety and protection.
Research Design
Considering the topic that the researchers chose, a qualitative kind of study will be used to
conduct the study. This qualitative study is concerned with the response of the participants in the
A qualitative method is mostly inductive which means that the method is not to test but to
discover which leads to methods such as interviews. In comparison, the deductive method is related to
the use of the quantitative method where a more scientific approach to the research (Padgett 1998).
With the increasing cases about VAW, the researchers led to choosing this kind of topic to raise
people’s awareness on this kind of issue especially women that are in the brink of experiencing different
32
A. Data Gathering
Considering the tight and differences in the schedule of the researchers, they maximized
their time to gather data and information at the library of the Lyceum of the Philippines
University and at the Bacoor City, Cavite Police Station. The researchers also maximized the use
of the World Wide Web and all other related books and articles and journals which are related
Making all this content valid and reliable for the study, it combined modern technology
B. Research Instrument
The data would be collected through research from books, articles, journals and
II: Questionnaires
III: Theories
C. Research Locale
The researchers were able to collect information from Bacoor City, Cavite.
33
Questionnaire:
(Ano-
anonguringkrimenangkalimitangnararanasan/ginagawasamgababaengkanilangasawa/kinakasama?)
(Anoanginyongkaraniwangtugonsaaksyonsanasabingkrimennanangyari?)
(Sinusubaybayannyobaangmgakrimennanirereklamo?)
4. In every month, how many victims reach out to the women’s desk to report their case?
5. Among the crimes reported, were there instances wherein the abusers are being detained? How?
saannakukulongangmganangabusosamgakababaihan?Paano?)
(Anoanginyongnagawaupangmaprotektahanangbabaenginabusolabansakanilangasawa/kinakasama
?)
34
Chapter IV
The purpose of this study is to know how officers address the complaints of the abused women.
It further examines what are the common types of abuse that were complains in the women’s desk.
The researchers were able to gather data and information at the library of Lyceum of the
Philippines University. Moreover, further data were collected with the help and cooperation of the
Bacoor City, Cavite Police Officer(s) who assisted and answered the questions addressed by the
researchers.
One of the most common types of abused being done to women is the statutory rape.
According to the officer who assisted us “Statutory Rape is a laceration of penetration into the hymen of
a woman.” Also, some reports include that they are being hit or attack by their partners or husband like
being punched specifically in the eyes and abdomen. Because of the immediate response being done by
the police officer, suspects are being apprehended immediately especially if there are material
evidences. He also stated that, “There is a so called in flagrante delicto, which means caught in the act
that he is committing a crime. That has three types. Has committed, actually committing or is about to
commit an offense.” (If there is a so called in flagrante delicto, ibigsabihin caught in the act na he is
committing a crime. Kasitatloyan, about to commit a crime, actually committing.) Regular firing or direct
firing is another course of action. Usually, police women follow up the reports addressed to them by
investigating the crime scene to confirm that an incident, like sexual harassment, sexual abuse and the
like really happened in that area. Evidence and a witness must be presented to the prosecutor, because
if none, the case will be dismissed. Moreover, in the case of the VAW, women undergo in the so called
35
“Medico legal”. The Philippine General Hospital is the only authorized hospital who is allowed to
conduct the medical examination on the abused victim. He also added that “If medico legal is done by
the private hospitals, you can never know if the judge or the person being reported to has a connection
with them and they might bribe the officials to amend the result that will favor them.” (Halimbawaikaw,
huwag naman mangyari, ni-rapeka, kailangan may medico legal kagalingsa PGH. PGH langkasiang
kung may laceration, penetration or there is a sexual abuse within a man and a woman. Dun
nangyari. O di ba? Kaya mayroonkamingtinatawagna authorized hospital, yung PGH lang. Silalangyung
medico legal paramapatunayan kung may rape na nangyari.) With regards to detaining the abuser, the
officersaid that they will automatically imprison the abuser after they heard the complaint filed by
abused. They can arrest the abuser even if there is no warrant of arrest presented. However, if the
suspect escaped even though there is already a filed case, he will be in the wanted list and after one to
two weeks, there will be a preliminary investigation to answer the accusations thrown to the abusers.
The most common action done by the police officers to protect the victim is by requesting a
protection from the Department of Justice. The victim will be listed in the DOJ’s Protection Program. The
police officer also added that under the Philippine’s Family Code, the custody of the children, who are
minors, will be in their mother because as of now, there is still no law that states that the custody of the
child is being grant to the father. “A father’s only duty is to raise and earn for his family” (Angtatay ay
36
A so-called “Barangay Protection Order” is an order which limits the abuser or the father to visit
the house of his wife and children every day. There should only be a specific time that he is allowed to
The researchers also found another woman who is willing to share her story in the case of
abused. According to (Ashley), she stated that she experienced an abuse from her boyfriend before. “At
first, I was not expecting that our relationship will go further on that kind of situation”.(Hindi
expect that her boyfriend will use his power to dominate her. She also stated that “The first time
wefought, it was the start when he used his hands onme. I had scratches and wounds in every part of
my bodycaused by the heavy hands of him” (Yung unangbeses kami na nag away, yunnapalayung start
meaning that he must know all the moves and actions of Ashley because if not,that is the sign that they
will fight again. “There was not a day that we will not fight and not a week will pass that I will not have
any bruises in my body” (Hindi talagalilipasangisangaraw noon na hindi kami nag aaway at
caused her. All she did was cry. There was not a day that she would not cry. “The worst thing that he had
done to me before was, we were fighting that day. With what he has been doing, I couldnot handle it
anymore so I sat down on the floor. He was kicking me and asking me to stand up because he thinks that
what I am doing is embarrassing. He was slapping me repeatedly while we were walking. When we
reached the corner of the room, he choked me. My vision went black and I almost passed out.” (Pinaka
worst naginawaniyasa akin noon, nag aaway kami that day. Dahilsobranaangginagawaniya,
37
room, sinakalnyaako.Nagdilimnaangpaninginko at muntiknaakonghimatayin.) However, she said that
“Idid not do anything about it. I was not able to report it because I was scared. I was scared of what
sakanya.)Ashley also said that she stayed and waited for the day that he would stop abusing her
physically, but he did not. Until the day had come, Ashley already proved to herself that this guy was not
meant for her because of his stupid attitude and it was already clear in her mind that she does not
Since the researchers want to maximize more their study, they found another woman (Dolores)
who was abused by his ex-husband. Dolores, who had the same experience as Ashley, willingly shared
her experience to us. “There are some days when I will go home from the market without having an
income to provide for our food. My husband, who is unemployed and is allegedly using drugs, will beat
mgaarawnauuwiakogalingpalangketaposwalaakongkitakasiwalabumibilingpanindako kaya
husband used to her is whenever he is drunk. “When he is drunk, I am starting to get scared. He will
choke me using his belt. He will not stop until he sees my skin changes into red or darker than my
complexion. It has always been like that. He will sometimes beat me, which results to bruises around my
However, the only difference they have is that, she reported to the police. “Of course I was really
scared. I did not want to stay quiet because he might hurt our children too. So what I did, I reported to
38
the authorities. I know I am not financially capable, so what the police did, they coordinated with our
barangay captain so he can issue me a Barangay Protection Order.” (Syemprenatakotako noon. Hindi
this Barangay Protection Order, her ex-husband is only allowed to visit his family every weekend and
with a maximum of two hours on his every visit. This order is still being observed until now according to
39
Chapter V
Summary
In the Philippines, VAW (Violence against Women) is one of the social problems that the nation
faces. With the continuous and immediate response by the police officers which includes following up of
the cases and coordinating with the barangay captain, cases being reported by the victims are being
accommodated and are given initial response. Usually, the common types of abused being reported are
slapping, choking and punching by the partner to their wife. Some women chose not to report their case
to the authorities in the fear that their partner might come after them but others are brave enough to
seek help so they can live in peace without a fear that such case will occur again and will give them
nightmares. Different forms of protection and responses are given to the victims by the authorities in
order to prevent such kind of incidents to occur again. The Department of Justice issues protection order
to the victim if they wish to. Interviews with the police officers who are in-charge in the women’s desk
where the researchers collected primary dataand with the help of the participants who willingly shared
their stories to the researchers were also conducted to gather information that will be used to complete
the study.
Conclusion
With information gathered by the researchers, though they were not able to get the statistical
data of how many cases were filed every month because the police women said it is very confidential
and cannot be seen by anybody, the researchers were able to see how many women were seeking for
40
help in the women’s desk in Bacoor, Cavite. The researchers werealso able to find out that many women
were abused by their partners/husband but not all cases were reported to the police because of their
personal reasons.However, those cases that were reported were immediately responded by the police
with necessary actions. And if they were able to prove that the women were abused, she will undergo
This research study is important because there are a lot of women who are being abused by
their partner/husband but not all were given justice. The researchers wanted to help other women who
are not aware that there are institutions like the women’s desk that is located in every police station,
The researchers believe that there should be gender equality between men and women that is
why theory of feminism is use to support the study. Years may have passed and although women in this
generation are being recognized for the contributions that they share, we still cannot deny the fact that
many of them are being to subjected to the inequality that this cruel society has especially in the
Recommendation
The following recommendations are offered for related research in the future:
1. For the future researchers, to gather statistical data from the police women’s desk on how many
2. To know more of how police officers address the complaints of the abused.
3. To raise awareness on women that there are order/s such as the Barangay Police Order.
41
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